Obituary of William James Downey

William James Downey, 76, of Peabody died unexpectedly at his home on Monday, August 10, 2015. He was the husband of 52 years to Frances (Bongette) Downey. He was born on November 16, 1938 the son of the late Frank and Mary (Healey) Downey and was raised and resided in Peabody all his life. He was a graduate of Peabody High School in 1957 and the Lynn Trade School. He was first employed as a machinist at the United Shoe Machine Corp. Beverly and then became a plumber and operated the W.J. Downey Plumbing and Heating Co for over 30 years prior to his disability retirement 21 years ago. He had been a member of the Peabody/Lynn Lodge of Elks, # 1409, the A.O.H. Div. 11 of Peabody, the Italian American Club and enjoyed his membership at St. Michael’s Society. He and his wife loved to travel to California and visiting their grandchildren there. He was an animal lover and was very fond of his cats and his dog “Muffin”. He was an avid reader and passed his passion for reading on to his children and grandchildren. Bill had a great sense of humor and enjoyed getting his friends riled up. He also liked to draw and paint portraits and had a tenor voice singing his favorite songs. He is survived besides his wife Frances, a son, Frank Downey of Peabody a daughter and son-in-law, Shannon Downey and Billy Hutchinson of Peabody, his cherished grandchildren, Brigid and Cara Downey and Lena, Duncan and Amelia Costales-Downey, his daughter-in-laws, Dawn Costales of Hayward,Calif and Bonnie Downey of Peabody, his 2 sisters, Bette Mc Carthy of Marblehead and Linda Stone of Maine, and many nieces and nephews. He was the father of the late Patrick Downey and the brother of the late John, Robert and Donald Downey. A Visitation will be held on Thursday from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 82 Lynn St., Peabody facility. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, Aug. 14, 2015 at 11:00 AM at the Funeral Home. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Esophogeal Cancer Awareness Association,(www.ecaware.org) PO Box 55071, Boston, MA 02205 or to the MSPCA, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston MA 02130 in his memory.